Material Suppliers: What to Expect

Thank you for pitching your byproducts in the [Re]Verse Pitch Competition! Here’s what to expect in the competition and when to expect it:

Before January 17: Create HeroX Account

Create a HeroX account so you can see competitors' repurposing ideas. To create an account, click the BECOME A HERO link at the top of the [Re]Verse Pitch 2018 page. Then click the ‘new user’ hyperlink. Create your account by entering your first name, last name, email and password. It’s totally free to create a HeroX account.

This is your show! At the opening pitch event, you will pitch your material(s) to competitors and other audience members (mentors, judges, & general public). Competitors can choose which materials to work with, so this is your chance to convince them that your material is the best one to use. You will have 6 minutes to pitch followed by 3 minutes of Q&A from competitors. In your presentation, please address the following:

· Who are you (your organization, what you do, why you have this material)?

· What is your material? What are its properties?

· What volume of the material is generated monthly? Is there any seasonality to the material that competitors need to be aware of?

· What is your current disposal method for this material? Why are you looking for a new solution?

· What terms would you require from a potential recipient of this material (price, regular pick-up required, etc.)? Are there any restrictions on the use of the material?

· Are you aware of any reuse options for this material?

· Is this material commonly generated by organizations in your industry? How scalable would a reuse solution for this material be?

· Anything else you think would be important for a business that wants to reuse your material to know.

The event will end with 30 minutes for networking between with you, competitors, judges, mentors, and other attendees. You can view past byproduct pitches here (look for the Opening Pitch events under the "VIDEO" section).

January 17- February 19: Offer Guidance and Advice to Competitors

Competitors will work with mentors & advisors to refine their business idea(s). During this time, please be an active user of HeroX to review ideas using your material and volunteer any guidance or advice that will help competitors create a viable solution for your material. Your contact information will be shared with competitors who submit initial concept statements that repurpose your material so that they may reach out to you directly to ask specific questions about the material. Please respond in a timely manner to these requests.

February 20: Finalist Application Deadline

In order to be considered to become a finalist and pitch on March 7th, competitors must submit a finalist application. At this stage, competitors will be asked to fill out specific questions relating to the Judging Criteria.

Finalist application scores will be comprised of the following (40 points max):

The material difficulty bonus points. Because there are varying degrees of difficulty related to repurposing the materials in the competition, points will be awarded to those competitors who proposes to repurpose a more challenging item, as follows:

Pressboard Furniture: 5 points

Oyster Shells: 4 points

Wet stillage: 3 points

PVC records: 2 points

Safety straps: 1 points

February 23- Finalists Announced

The judges’ selections of finalists will be announced.

February 23-March 7: Pitch Practice

Finalists will refine their pitch & with support from their mentor, and may have some additional questions for you during this process.

We hope you’ll attend the final pitch event where finalists will pitch their business concepts to the judging panel. All pitches will be videoed and uploaded to http://reversepitch.org after the event.

Finalists will have 6 minutes to pitch, and will have access to a template pitch deck to address each of the Judging Criteria areas. Judges will have 4 minutes for Q&A. The winners will be announced at the event.

March 7 & Beyond: Make a Repurposed Solution for Your Material a Reality!

Whether an idea uses your material wins the Innovation Prize or not, we hope you continue to work with entrepreneurs that were interested in repurposing your material to turn their idea into reality!

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Email addresses collected via this form will be used by City of Austin staff and the [Re]verse Pitch planning team only to communicate with you about this program.